Audio Books

Do you like stories with friends that stick together forever? If you do you might like this book by Lurlene McDaniel. The story is about Ethan and Leah, are teenagers who are best friends. The story is about Ethan who is Amish goes and visits Leah who I an the hospital for nine days, diagnosed with bone cancer is the worst one week and two days for her especially for her because her mom an her husband are on a cruise out so she's all alone luckily she gets out the hospital Ethan's by her side. They have a strong love for each other is a very inspirational story about Leah and Ethan You will love this book I enjoyed it very much.

Lifted up by angels is a lovely book that explains life betweem Leah and the amish. It is and experiencing book for people to explore.

this book is a great book to read and it helps you to understand the hardships that some families have in their everyday life. i think it is really inspiriational and it can teach you things you may not have known.

I love this book!! I love the lurlene mcdaniel books because they are romantic, love stories!


This book is about a girl who falls for a Amish guy and He falls in love with her, and ...... WOW! SEE SOME SPARCKS??

As you can gather from the name, in my oppinion the second book was much better than the first book. In this novel, Leah goes to work during the summer near the Amish community. She meets up with Ethan and Charity, and though things seem to be going good at first, many conflicts spring up during her stay. The more she falls for Ethan, the more problems seem to occur. You should deffinately read this book.

A great deal of ink and celluloid has been used to describe the Allied invasion of Fortress Europe on Tuesday June 6, 1944. This book remains and no doubt always will be one of the best accounts of what happened that day. It captures the heroism of the common soldiers on both sides. While some of the men collapsed under the pressure, most exhibited great bravery as they fought for what they were told to fight for. One of the best features of this book is that Ryan depicts the German soldiers as fighting soldiers; he very rarely mentions the concept of Nazism or the origins of the war.
There is also very little mention of the clash of egos on the Allied side, although he spends a great deal of time describing the personality conflicts on the German side. I do not fault him for this, for it was these conflicts that kept the German mobile reinforcements from entering the fight on the beaches when they could have made a difference.
D-Day was not the greatest battle of World War II, greater ones took place on the Eastern front between Germany and the Soviet Union. However, it was the most complex in execution and was necessary from the Allied point of view. Given the tremendous power of the Soviet offensive in the east and the blockade of supplies, Germany would eventually have been defeated. However, if the D-Day invasion had been repulsed, the Soviet armies would have overrun all of Germany and possibly even much of France. As a consequence of this, the post-war world would have been very different. From this perspective it was one of the most significant as it put allied armies on a course through Germany. You cannot understand history without knowing about D-Day.

I reread this classic account after watching the Ken Burns PBS documentary,"The War". While Burns' work is magnificent and spans the entire war effort on both fronts, Ryan'streatment of the Normandy invasion is still the best ever on this most remarkable of all military undertakings. Much like Burn, Ryan's writing is filled with poignant personal; accounts expertly interwoven into the broad scope of this climactic event. Its worth a reread.

very fast delivery, quality product, would do business again

It's impossible to fail to recommend "The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan. It makes makes all of the uncertainties of war vivid and, in describing what would ultimately be a decisive victory, it shows the real (and tragic) results of errors in judgement, planning, and analysis ("Eisenhower 'lied' us into war," they'd say...). Most importantly, it shows a fighting spirit in the American and British military man that is unconquerable.

It is motivating, sobering, humbling, and a superb reminder of the greatness that we are capable of when our leadership is as resolved as our soldiers and when we are willing to cast ourselves into the midst of uncertainty with the intent of creating certainty in its place.

Cornelius Ryan invented two genres with his ground-breaking history-The Longest Day.
On the one hand, he started a trend to personalized history. His book relies heavily on the recollections of those who fought on both sides. In this he anticipates Ken Burns' The War - A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick and also The Second World War the more scholarly John Keegan.
His other innovation, a brisk style of story-telling that hops from the personal to the technical to the strategic has won the day in the fiction of war. Tom Clancy Red Storm Risingis one of his legatees.
Aside from considerations of this book's considerable influence, this is one absorbing read. The personal sense that comes from Ryan's extensive interviews with veterans comes through on the page and the effect is extremely involving, even hypnotic.
The prose style, which seems a little overwrought today, was borrowed heavily from Henry Salomon's TV series Victory at Sea - The Legendary World War II Documentary (History Channel).In 1959, it seemed lke the best-maybe the only way-to discuss events whose importance was becoming more evident as they receded.
This edition lacks maps-except for one that doesn't even include Normandy, and there's no way to tell the strategic part of the story without them. There are also the same typos that existed in the first edition.

None the less, an exciting book and a great introduction to the power of personal history.

Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG: A Novel and the pioneering New Short Course in Wine,The

Wendy Mass's A Mango Shaped Space is an enlightening book about a girl with a condition called synesthesia which heightens the senses and "crosses" them, allowing people to taste sounds, see noises, give colors to letters and words, etc. The book is very informational, in fact, it gives the readers several pages of factual information about the condition through the voice of a university researcher. In addition to promoting understanding of a condition that the book says impacts 1 in 500 people, it also deals with the theme of coping with death, the theme of the importance of friendship, and the theme of first love/romance. The ending of the book is satisfactory, and it ends on a positive message. There is little in the book that would be terribly controversial, so it could be used as a classroom accompaniment of a book of similar theme without too much concern.
The information in the book about synesthesia occurs during the main character Mia's first trip to the neurology department at the University of Chicago's medical center. Mia has been to her pediatrician, who referred her to a psychiatrist, who finally referred her to the University. She has kept the secret of her synesthesia for 13 years, until just recently, and is dealing with her peers and family not understanding it. The information that the neurologist, Dr. Jerry Weiss, gives Mia is in depth but easy to understand. It is a good resource for a student with synesthesia, or friends of the student because it not only gives scientific facts about the condition, but also gives a first person account of how it manifests, and what to expect when talking to people about it.
The saddest part of the book deals with the death of Mia's beloved cat, Mango. In the excitement of flirting with a boy, Mia forgets to give Mango a pill that allows him to breathe properly, and accidentally leaves him outside on a rainy night. She deals with the guilt of the thought that her actions caused the death of her pet (who she believes is a reincarnation of her deceased grandfather), but it is later revealed that Mango's health was failing before Mia's forgetfulness was even factored in. The theme is also touched on in the life of Mia's best friend, Jenna, an only child who lost her mother to a terminal illness. Jenna's father is starting to date again, and Jenna is still coping with the death of her mother, a few years prior.
The themes of first romance and importance of friendship are pretty common themes of coming-of-age stories, and are thoughtfully incorporated into the thread of the story. Of two love interests, Mia picks the kind, caring boy, Roger, who helps her deal with the death of Mango, after recently dealing with the death of his own dog.
The writing itself flows nicely through most of the book. Most characters have believable ideas and dialogue, and Mia's family, though quirky, is believable. One character, however, Mia's younger brother Zack, speaks in sarcastic, overly "cool" comebacks. He is written as an eleven-year-old, but his dialogue is reminiscent the overly sophisticated banter of the characters on Dawson's Creek. When Mia asks Zack about his teaching their sister, Beth, about superstitious beliefs, Zack snaps, "Hey, the Voodoo Vixen came to me, not the other way around"(75). The dialogue of Dr. Jerry Weiss is also obviously used to inform the reader. The information, though, isn't tiring or unnecessary, but it does seem pretty obvious to the reader that it is there for a reason.
The book was an entertaining read, and it was easy to feel sympathetic for Mia's character, especially at the death of her cat. I'd recommend this book to 9th grade readers, possibly a lower tier 10th grade reader, or anyone interested in learning about synesthesia. Thematically, it could pair with a classic book with the theme of coping with the death of a loved one.

Seeing shapes and colors when ever you hear sounds would be amazing! But it could get in the way of trying to go through your normal everyday life though. Mia, the main character in the novel A Mango-Shaped Space does. This book, by Wendy Mass, tells you about the little known condition called "synesthesia", as it gives you the point of view of someone who has the condition. This book is great for readers of all ages and genders. It is also a quick read with a surprise ending that could interfere with Mia's "colors"...

By making this a young adult/preteen book, Wendy Mass has almost written herself into a corner (but not really). Mia (the main character) has a voice that is simple and somewhat bland, which is to be expected of someone her age. That she says certain things she says, does others, and acts the way she does only works because she's an eighth grade girl. It makes the story both more realistic, but also a bit simpler and emptier, like it's been watered down. Basically, it makes the story younger and more appropriate for younger readers as well, who will relate to Mia with ease.

Other than that, though, this is an excellent book. Nobody can ignore the originality factor. In an age where many books have extremely similar subject matters, "A Mango-Shaped Space" is both intriguing and fresh. Few people know of synaesthesia's existence and while this will not be the greatest read for older readers (uninterested in the drama of fourteen year old girls), it will not only appeal to teens, but will get them interested and aware.

The characterization is also very good. I liked that everybody was really believable, from Mia's older sister and younger brother, to her parents, to her friends. It was refreshing to find that Mia was not a flawless person (she "cheats" (or, for her, cheats) on a math test). In general, the book is just so readable and the story so interesting, one can't help but get sucked in.

An intriguing story, a casual, easy read, and a really wonderful book for the aforementioned age group. Highly recommended!

This book is an amazing story from start to finish. I just couldn't put it down. And I'm far from a being a kid, at age 49!

Here's what I like about A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass: The plot is extremely interesting and really, for lack of a better word, new. Mass talks about a condition that most people have never even heard of and she just runs with it.

Here's what I don't like: Mass is at pains throughout the novel to make sure everyone knows her narrator is young. I also have mixed feelings about it winning an award (the Kaplan award I believe) for artistically representing life with a disability.

Here's some information so you can actually understand what I'm going on about: Okay, so the book follows thirteen-year-old Mia. Mia has synesthesia, a neurological condition that allows her to see letters and numbers in color. As the blurb on the back of the book states, Mia named her cat Mango because that is the color of his breathing. That is, you will agree, pretty cool. The action of the story starts when Mia realizes she can no longer keep her condition a secret from her friends and family because it's starting to interfere with her schoolwork. So Mia starts going to doctors and she finally meets people just like her.

So, on one level, this story is about dealing with synesthesia. But it also has a lot more going on. Mia's grandfather has recently died and, as readers will learn, Mango's place in the story is intricately tied to that of Mia's grandfather. At the end of the day, more than being about dealing with a disability (I'm not even sure I like calling synesthesia a disability) A Mango-Shaped Space is about accepting who you are and coping with the harder parts of life.

I read this book back-to-back with Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian so comparisons are inevitable. What I found really interesting is that Alexie's narrator is only a year older than Mia, but the story is clearly appropriate for teens--I'd never give it to a ten year old for instance. Mass' novel, on the other hand, could just as easily be cataloged as a Children's book rather than Young Adult (left to my own devices I think I would do just that). Why? Well, like I said, Mass makes sure we know how young Mia is. Revelations like Mia never previously sitting with a boy at lunch or attending a boy-girl party abound in the narrative--sometimes unnecessarily.

At the same time, the material is just less heavy. The tone is lighter and the characters are a little less developed so that their hurts never quite hit home. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing though--it just makes it clear, while reading, that the book could be appropriate for a younger audience.

I'd definitely give this book a look though. The prose is easy to digest and the story is really interesting. And, surprisingly, the story features a lot of characters who are just as interesting to meet as Mia (with her synesthesia)--Mia's little brother Zach is a particular favorite for this reviewer.

This book is amazing. It's a great read, easy to follow and really hits at your heart. I would reccommend it to everyone.

I am a fan of Anthony Rapp's and a major fan of Rent, so I felt the need to pick up this book. It gives you such great insight into Anthony as a person and there was a lot in here to which I could relate. Plus, you get to follow along with the backstory behind Rent, which I also found very informative and entertaining. But above all, Anthony pleasantly surprised me with his writing talent. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I hope he continues to write in the future.

At first when I wanted to get this audio book I went to Barnes and Nobles. Figured, Hey, might as well save on shipping and handling. They never told me a price and told me it'd be in soon. TWO months go by and still no book! I go in every week and ask them, do you have my audio book yet?? they say No, we can't find it in any warehouse anywhere. Finally I say take me off the list, I'm going to Amazon.com. I also ask them what was the price? They say "about $70" I am so glad that I never got it from them!! I saved FIFTY bucks with amazon.com and also got it in TWO DAYS!! And that was with the cheapest shipping they have! It made the entire process worth it. And the audio book is simply amazing, I read the book about two years ago and now I listen to the Audio Book in the car while I'm driving. It's extremely relaxing and Anthony's voice is so soothing and I don't feel alone when I drive alone at night.

Since I'm a big fan of Rent, I enjoyed this a lot. A revealing look at Jon Larson and his cast in the early days.

Anthony Rapp has set the bar on many characters on Broadway. This novel introduces its readers to the man behind the song. It's remarkable to discover someone who has the talent to act and can find the words to express what we all long to share. Wonderful book for any fan or any person interested in good writing.

Any kid who reads The Doll People and the sequel, The Meanest Doll In The World would be very excited if they knew there would be a third book. I'm one of those people, I read both of them and I LOVED THEM. I decided it was my favorite book so far (I'm only 10 so I know that won't be forever). I recommended them to everyone who was looking for a good book at the right level, I think if you are 8 or up, you would love the idea and l ove the way Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin writes and how Brian Selznick illustrates. They're all a really good team. One of the things I LOVED were the illustrations. For someone who doesn't know how to picture things in your mind while you're reading, this is the book to get in the book store. If you feel interested to read this book then grab it out of the bookstore or buy it anywhere, please. Both of those books are great!

Anntie Sarah was lost for 47 years ago, then 47 years later, Annabelle got a hold of her diary. She kept it very safe until the Funcrafts came to the house. Annabelle Doll shared the diary with the Funcrafts daughter, Tiffany, and everything in the diary they both read is a step closer to find Anntie Sarah.

By Rose

This is an excellent book with fun and adventure abound. Good reading for people of all ages. My 70 year old Father loved it, so much so I bought him his own copy. A fun read over and over.

Who says that you can read and enjoy children's books? This book is on par with some of the great children's literary classics like the Wizard of Oz. The author creates a world in which a Doll family comes to live unknown to the human residences around them. While the Dolls remain forever the same age, Annabelle Doll had remained an eight year old girl for a hundred years. She is on the search for her missing aunt Sarah who disappeared 45 years ago. She and the Doll family travel without getting human detection which means that they can be forever frozen in time. The Doll life is very fragile and human detection can determine their frozen state. A fear that the Doll family must have while Annabelle and her sister yearn to break free from the dollhouse that is their home. They remind me of Anne Frank and her sister hiding in the attic. They have so many rules of their own without being detected from humans. It's quite an entertaining novel for both adults and children alike. I could see an animated movie come alive and popular quite easy. The illustrations are in black and white. I don't have any complaints about the book but hope to get back into it soon enough.

The Doll People
By: Ann M. Martin

Book Review by: Caroline Le

Have you ever lost someone near and dear to you? Well that's exactly what happened to Annabelle Doll in this book, The Doll People. It's about a family of dolls trying to find their lost family member, Auntie Sarah, but the problem is that Auntie Sarah could be anywhere in the house and the whole family is only about an inch in height. The whole family includes mama, papa, Uncle Doll, nanny, Annabelle, her little brother Bobby, Baby Betsy, and of course Auntie Sarah. Along the way they get into a lot of problems, with The Captain (the humans cat) and getting lost, plus they can't move while the humans are around, it'll jeopardize their secret, but they also have a lot of fun too so don't worry. Personally I think that one of the best parts in the story is all the adventures they have. Read the book to find out what happens to the Doll family and Auntie Sarah. Enjoy reading it, I know I did.

Hi, I am 9 years old and I LOVED this book its about a doll that's a hundered years old and is named Anabelle who lives with her mom, dad, brother, uncle , and baby sister. While Anabelle is looking for Auntie Sarah, who has been missing for 45 years, she finds another doll family, the Funcrafts. They are newer dollhouse dolls. The Funcraft family & Anabelle's family become good friends. And the Funcrafts have modern things the old dolls don't understand, like a microwave & Bar-B-que. And when Anabelle's birthday comes around they have a party for her at the Funcraft's dream house. The dolls have to be careful that the humans don't see them moving around & talking or else they will be in "doll state" (this is where they get frozen for 24 hrs). This book would be good for girls 7-12. The words are easy to read & the story is easy to understand. It's a long book, about 260 pages, but all totally entertaining. No boring parts. If you are looking for a great book to read, get this book NOW.

I have been an avid reader of baseball history for most of my life and I first purchased this book in the 80's and wore it out and purchased another copy. There isn't a season that goes by that I don't read it again. When you read the interviews of the ballplayers, recorded by Lawrence Ritter, it's as if you are a fly on the wall hearing the conversations first hand and the ghosts of seasons long past are brought back to life.

You get a first person account of some of the most famous moments in early baseball history through the fond recollections of some of the participants. Merkle's boner, Snodgrass' muff, Wambsgan's unassisted World Series Triple play are all recounted. The most entertaining parts of the book recount tales of Germany Schaefer stealing first base, the chronicles of Charles Victory Faust, and Wilbert Robinson attempting to catch a grapefruit dropped from an airplane. You get a glimpse of Ty Cobb from his teammates Davy Jones and Sam Crawford. You get several different takes on the great manager John McGraw from several different players who once played for him.

This is hands down the greatest sports book I have read. It's not only a great history of the early days of 20th century baseball but a wonderful piece of Americana. The book breaths humanity and paints a portrait of the ballplayers of the past who played for the love of the game unsullied by steroids and multimillion dollar contracts.

If you love the game of baseball as it once was and still should be this is a "must read"...some of the players interviewed by Ritter were unknown to me and I was fascinated to learn of their exploits...I ordered an additional three books and sent them to long time fans of the game...If I was a GM today in MLB I would have every member of the team read this book so that they might appreciate the game as it was in its infancy...the modern player (in most cases)doesn't realize how fortunate he is to wear a major league uniform and earn the money today for playing a "game"

This book was a lot of fun to read, it showed a different side of the sport of baseball other than statistic. Told by the people themselves who played the game and in their own words. The author just let them go on for as long as they pleased with any stories they might have to tell. If you enjoy baseball history this is a must read.

This superb oral history of baseball circa 1900-1920's contains many priceless tales. After Ty Cobb died in 1961 author Lawrence Ritter (1922-2004) took his tape recorder and traveled the USA to interview 22 surviving players from that remarkable era. We hear from top stars and established players, including Ed Roush, Sam Crawford, Smokey Joe Wood, Chief Meyers, Sam Jones, Bill Wambsganss, etc. Each player reminisces in his own way, recounting games, teammates, owners, managers, crowds, ballparks, etc. Some talk at length while others are briefer, but each is articulate and illuminating. I particularly liked Rube Marquard's memory of visiting the Chicago firehouse where he'd once slept as a transient, Stan Coveleski's view that baseball kept him from the coal mines, and the remembrances of Davy Jones and Jimmy Austin. It was also interesting to see how these players viewed superstars Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. This book provides readers with a superb sense of baseball before night games, air travel, TV, radio (except after 1922), farm systems, and in some cities, Sunday baseball.

Ritter set a standard with this superb oral history. The players interviewed here have all departed (the last in 1988), but their memories live on in this superb book. Fans might also enjoy BASEBALL WHEN THE GRASS WAS REAL, a similar effort about a later era by Donald Honig.

Statistically, baseball back then couldn't be more at variance with the game now. Cy Young threw 511 career victories, and 750 complete games. In 1909, Ty Cobb led the majors both in batting average (.377) and home runs (9). Cobb's teammate Sam Crawford hit over 300 triples in his career.

What to make of such numbers? Lawrence S. Ritter's "The Glory Of Their Times" strips away the statistical confusion by getting to the heart of Major League Baseball's early days, the players themselves. An economics professor, Ritter invested his downtime from 1962-66 in interviewing elderly men, baseball players all who knew what it was like to face a Walter Johnson fastball, or have Ty Cobb slide into the base they were covering.

"People were more unique then, more unusual, more different from each other," says Davy Jones, who played on the Tigers with Cobb and Crawford. "Now people are all more or less alike, company men, security minded, conformity - that sort of stuff. In everything, not just baseball."

Transcriptions of Ritter's interviews with Jones and 21 other former players, including Crawford and two others then in the Hall of Fame, makes up the whole of "The Glory Of Their Times," published in 1966 and later extended with four more interviews in 1984. Nearly all the interviews offer both testimony and color for the game as it was then.

Bill Wambsganss tells us about his unassisted triple play in the 1920 World Series, and how Ring Lardner once used his last name to rhyme with "clam's chance" and "Ray Chapman's pants". Fred Snodgrass tells us about his famous muffed fly in the 1911 World Series, and how his New York Giants tried to psyche out the Philadelphia Athletics by sitting on the dugout bench, ostentatiously sharpening their spikes.

You hear so much about another famous World Series moment, the Merkle "boner" of 1908, that you feel like you were there on the field, too. There's a Rashomon-like quality to hearing various interviewees give their different takes on such things as the character of John McGraw and whether "Giant Killer" Harry Coveleski was run out of the league when he was caught chewing on bologna. (Snodgrass says so, while Harry's brother Stanley, a major-league pitcher himself, calls it "a lot of bull".

Not all the interviews are riveting. One wishes Ritter could have pushed some of the old players more, like the rumors that swirled around Smoky Joe Wood involving fixes. But allowing the subjects the reins probably drew more color out of them than a Grand Jury could have. I love how Crawford keeps telling Ritter he hasn't much time to talk, while giving Ritter one of the longest and most entertaining interviews in the book, describing how players would allow themselves to be rubbed down with "Go Fast," a noxious combination of Vaseline and Tabasco sauce that made them sweat like a sauna.

"I hope I haven't said anything I shouldn't," Crawford says at the end. "There are a lot of the old-timers still left,you know, and they're liable to say, 'That fathead, who the hell does he think he is, anyway, popping off like that!'"

If you like baseball even a little, you will enjoy "The Glory Of Their Times" quite a lot.

The Rivers of Zadaa is the sixth installment to the Pendragon series. I loved this book it had adventure and it has mystery in it. This book was the best of the Pendragon it gave me everything that I wanted in a book. This book starts with a tragic death then ends very surprisingly. Saint Dane has gone to the territory of Zadda were he is influencing two warring tribes now Bobby must stop him with the help of the traveler Loor.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an adventure book that is also a fantasy. This book now had to be the best because you had no idea what was going to happen next. I absolutely loved this book I just never wanted to put it down. I definitely would put this book in my top 5 of favorite books.

DJ, you keep me waiting too long. I want you pumping these books out faster.I can't get enough!!!

Hands down the best series I have laid my eyes on.

This book is packed with twists in the plot, and suspense that make you feel as if you are on a roller coaster. With two different stories filled with adventure and sprinkled with love, you feel like you're with the characters. Whenever you think you have the answer to what's going on, you want to shout it out to the characters, but each time you are soon to be proven wrong. Once you start reading this book, it will be torture just to put it down. Whenever you aren't guessing what's going to happen next, you are cheering for Bobby because you think he's going to win, or worrying because he's going to lose this battle. He is always changing position in this battle, so you feel like you're on a roller coaster, just like what I said before.

After five battles against the shape-shifting demon named Saint Dane, Bobby Pendragon is swept into another battle yet again. Saint Dane's main goal is to destroy Halla, all places, planets, and times, for a still unknown reason. Using flumes, the connection between places in time in the universe called Territories (there are ten), Bobby chases Saint Dane into the next territory, Zadaa. As a Traveler, the only people who can use the flumes, Bobby must stop the evil Traveler, Saint Dane, from reaching his evil goal. On the dessert planet of Zadaa, people are facing famine, and two tribes who were once at peace are getting close to a quick and deadly war. The aggressive tribe, the Batu, suspect that the clever tribe, the Rokador, are holding all the water from the underground rivers. Bobby, with help from Loor and Alder, the Travelers from Zadaa and Denduron, must thwart Saint Dane's plans to push Zadaa into chaos, or else Halla will be one step closer to destruction.
Meanwhile, on Bobby's home Territory of Second Earth, Bobby's friends are facing the strangest problems. Mark Dimond, pure geek, has joined a club called Sci-Clops. Things are going great for him until his enemy, Andy Mitchell, joins the club. After joining the club, Mitchell has been nicer to Mark, and Mark is getting suspicious. To add to Mark's problems, he is also worrying about how Bobby is doing on Zadaa, and how Bobby's other friend, Courtney Chetwynde is doing. Courtney has gone to a boarding school, and has gotten a new boyfriend. Of course, her boyfriend and the new Andy Mitchell turn out to be someone else...


Notes:

-This is actually my book report.

-For people starting the Pendragon series, you should start at the first book.

-It has a plot very similar to the first Pendragon book, The Merchant of Death.

I hope you enjoy this book, it's a real Tum-Tigger!

Htmlgoddess@gmail.com
a 7th grader

The Rivers of Zadaa by D. J. MacHale is an action filled adventure with a bit of mystery. I recommend this book too kids who like reading long books.
The story begins with Bobby Pendragon wearing clothing every where too hide his skin walking next too Loor in an arena. Were Loor lives water is more valuable than gold. In the Zadaa he will meet his enemy Saint Daine and try too stop his evil plan. Saint Daine is a evil demon.
Bobby Pendragon is a 13-year old boy who is from 2nd Earth. Bobby is on Zadaa trying too stop a war from happening. Bobby Pendragon mis determined on his mission, and is helped by Loor and other friends along the way. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Bobby must wear a lot of clothing because the Razack are really white because they live underground, and the Batu are darker because they live at the surface. Bobby is smart, nice, and trustful, he an also heal fast from injury's.
I recommend this book too kids who like reading. Will Bobby exceed his mission? Read This book too find out!

I can't say it much better than the previous reviews have already. I wanted to read something on this subject and was led to this book. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the topic. Broad in scope yet detailed in its descriptions of the soldiers, units, and battles in this massive offensive. This is an excellent jumping off point to begin studying the Battle of Arnhem. Well written and exciting to discover.

A Bridge Too Far: The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of World War II by Cornelius Ryan gives one of the best accounts of General Montgomery's ill-fated plan and operation to turn the German northern flank on the Western front during September 1944 of World War II. Montgomery hoped to push into the heart of industrial Germany. It was his plan for personal glory to end the war in 1944.

This narrative non-fiction work by Cornelius Ryan brings together the objectivity and insights of a historian with the narrative style of a novelist. Ryan brings historical events to life in a style like Stephen Ambrose. Ryan's writings keep your interest. He gives the experiences of the individual soldiers and Dutch resistance members. He tells the story from all sides. The roles and effects of these operations on the civilians unfortunate enough to be caught up in events are included. I was shocked to learn of the horrific communication issues among the British. I felt Ryan was placing blame for those problems at the feet of the Americans. From reading Ryan's work I found a dramatic lack of urgency on the part of the British. An example is after the 82nd had secured their main bridge objective which included tremendous sacrifice the British simply camped for the night brewing their tea while their fellow countryman were still encircled and dying in Arhen. I was disappointed that Montgomery was not slammed for this operation. From the account Montgomery is lucky he wasn't relieved of command or sacked on the spot.

I recommend the book, though at times I found the reading and story too slowly unfolding. It is one of the all time classics of World War II and should be in the library of every military history buff.

excellent book. i remember seeing the movie when it first came out and it blew me away. this book remains my favorite all-time military choice. if you can get your hands on the paperback, i suggest it. the paperback has more detail, but this book is truly remarkable even if it has been condensed a bit. cornelius ryan was a fantastic author. this book tells about a military campaign that is usually overlooked due to d-day and the battle of the bulge. i think this military campaign needs to be remembered due to the heroism of the men involved and cornelius ryan brings out that heroism as if you are actually seeing the battle unfold. great military literature.

excellent book. i remember seeing the movie when it first came out and it blew me away. this book remains my favorite all-time military choice. if you can get your hands on the paperback, i suggest it. the paperback has more detail, but this book is truly remarkable even if it has been condensed a bit. cornelius ryan was a fantastic author. this book tells about a military campaign that is usually overlooked due to d-day and the battle of the bulge. i think this military campaign needs to be remembered due to the heroism of the men involved and cornelius ryan brings out that heroism as if you are actually seeing the battle unfold. great military literature.

excellent book. i remember seeing the movie when it first came out and it blew me away. this book remains my favorite all-time military choice. if you can get your hands on the paperback, i suggest it. the paperback has more detail, but this book is truly remarkable even if it has been condensed a bit. cornelius ryan was a fantastic author. this book tells about a military campaign that is usually overlooked due to d-day and the battle of the bulge. i think this military campaign needs to be remembered due to the heroism of the men involved and cornelius ryan brings out that heroism as if you are actually seeing the battle unfold. great military literature.

I completely forgot about this book until one of my students had me read it. Such a classic with an important message about staying true to yourself even if you are off the beaten path. The Spanish culture and charming illustrations only make this all the more likeable.

What a lovely classical story of peace. Ferdinand is a peaceful bull who loves to lie in the meadow and smell flowers. He gets stung by a bee at exactly the wrong moment (when the bullfighters are coming to pick a bull to take to the fights). So he is, of course, carted off to fight, since he is obviously the feistiest bull in the field. When he gets to the ring, no matter how mean the bullfighters are to him, Ferdinand just lies down and smells the flowers on the ladies' hats. This is such a beautiful story of peace and hope. Even though bullfighting is not promoted or accepted in the U.S., I think this is a beautiful classic story and I do recommend it for all ages.

the book and the cd were in good shape and the story was
similar to the one i knew when i was a child but not the
same. i was looking for a copy of the one i knew in the
early 50's, it was fun to listen to and it was funny.
there is another story of the flying mouse at the same
time, that i am looking for.

I loved this book as a child and my four children (14, 12, 11, 8) all enjoy this book as well. A great story to remind everyone that there is someplace for you in this world and its not always where you thought you would be!

I was delighted to find this childhood book on Amazon. So easy! Great service too.

This is in my opinion C.S. Lewis's best nonfiction work. The premise has been done before, but rarely with the sort of insight given here. His overviews of Affection and Friendship are much too often overlooked and glossed over as unimportant, but here they're given a status they really deserve.

The section on friendship, and the idea that people are bonded through mutual passions, and his grim statement that people who are just looking for a friend will never find one, was spot on. Friendships are formed as an extension of a passion for something bigger than the individual. A mutual cause drives people, whether they be sports fanatics, a tribe pining for survival, or art critics.

The pitfalls he explains for the loves such as lust, bigotry, elitism, etc. are self explanatory, but it's also practical. Friendships are exclusive by their very nature, and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with such a thing. Eros is most certainly exclusive. He emphasizes that we can't be friends with everyone, love everyone with Eros, but we can love everyone with Charity, the final section of the book.

One could write a book three times longer and not come close to the depth portrayed in this little book. Strongly recommended.

CS Lewis does a wonderful job defining the four Greek words for Love. I would recommend this book most highly to the man (women are less likely to make this error) who thinks he needs no friends. Lewis shows the importance of friendship to a good life.

It Is One of those books that should be sitting on a coffee table. It defines the various types of pure love: agape, venus, and storge to name some. It truly defines where the 'heart' is and perhaps defining the brotherly love, the parental love, or the true love...



Susan Saige

I think most of the people who purchase Lewis' non-fiction do so because they are interested in his take on Christianity. One of the odd things about this book is that Lewis doesn't make it clear how he decided on these four Greek words. It turns out that the New Testament doesn't use the word eros or storge. This means that the New Testament usage is actually closer to colloquial English usage that you might guess from this book. I assume he chose these words because classical Greek philosophers classified love in this four-fold way.

When Lewis discusses friendship in this book, he gives it a rather odd definition that no longer seems appropriate in today's world, and probably even in his time almost no one except a university professor have. Lewis' concept is that a friend is someone with whom you share an arcane interest. It is an interest so rare that when you meet someone with a similar interest, your reaction is "What? You too?" Now that most people live in large cities and many have access to the internet, finding someone with an interest in say Wagnerian Opera isn't nearly so hard as it might have been for Lewis, who hated London and large cities. I think for most urban dwellers today, the people whom we consider friends are not so much those with whom we share a rare hobby, but people whose company we like and whose lives we are interested in hearing about.

If you are a hard core Lewis fan, you will probably enjoy this book, but if you are new to Lewis, you might have more fun reading something else like Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, or The Great Divorce.

Within this work, Mr. Lewis is quick to point out the inherent difficulty with regard to the concept of love facing individuals whose native tongue is English. That is, it is easily recognized that there exists an extreme deficit when one applies the same word to describe the sentiment shared with one's spouse, as well as their favorite food. In such extreme cases of difference in terms of the word's application, clarification is hardly needed and might be written off as an embellishment about that which one feels about, say, strawberries or chocolate. However, other instances are more difficult to write off as a poor choice of words; such as, love for friends, family, a spouse, and God. One must surely agree that the sentiment in each of these instances of love can exist and be experienced in significantly different ways. While love is the umbrella under which all of these sentiments rest, they are, as far as most people can tell, very different things. That being said, it is lucky for the reader that Mr. Lewis, almost immediately, circumvents the language barrier and begins to illustrate the foundational understanding which must be apparent for further exploration of the concepts of love to proceed. For those who have struggled with this, even the simplest concept of love's significance, as this reviewer has, the first chapter alone is worth the price of this work's purchase.

Building upon a necessary base of knowledge, Lewis begins to explore the nature of love beginning with that love which might be the gray area between the words love and like, or either of the two, as spoken in the English language. Lewis continues his endeavor by tackling what people often consider the more significant forms of love such as friendship, erotic love, and the love of and for God. While no attempt will be made here to convey the significance of the final chapter regarding actual Love in fear of diluting a brilliant message, each of the chapters leading up to that point share common threads. That is, Mr. Lewis illustrates the difficulty which can be had with love in any form if left to our own devices. This illustration is achieved in the author's typical fashion of profound analogies and appeals to common experiences. One can be certain that while this recognition of the volatility of human love is of extreme importance, it is the overriding concept that only by surrendering these loves to Love that one can achieve happiness, solace, and purity in Love which makes this work unquestionably valuable to those that are fortunate enough to read it.